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Does Angry Birds pose danger during takeoff?

If the FAA can't prove electronic devices truly endanger planes during takeoff and landing, it should loosen its restrictions.

By The Denver Post Editorial Board

Posted:
01/06/2013 12:01:00 AM MST

Updated:
01/07/2013 02:53:34 PM MST

The Federal Aviation Administration is planning to take a hard look at the rationale behind restricting the use of personal electronic devices such as laptops and cellphones during flights. (Associated Press file photo)

At long last, the Federal Aviation Administration is taking a hard look at the rationale behind restricting the use of personal electronic devices during flights.

We hope this administration, which prides itself on being persuaded by science, cleaves to that principle in this matter.

The truth is, the FAA doesn't have proof that using a laptop or a Kindle interferes with a plane's electronic systems.

Yet it clings to prohibitions on listening to an iPod or watching a video during takeoff and landing.

Of course, flight safety should be the agency's priority. However, rules designed to safeguard passengers and crew must be based on real evidence or they will be undermined.

So you might ask, why not err on the side of being overly cautious? This is why: Because nonsensical rules will only encourage the rebellious to ignore them.

It's happening already.

The New York Times recently published a piece that detailed several incidents in which passengers were arrested for using electronic devices.

Those who have flown even a moderate amount in recent years may have seen such conflicts between passengers and flight attendants. They're pretty common.

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Yes, there will always be the obnoxious person on an airplane who is going to push his seat back before it is allowed or sprint to the restroom before the seat belt sign is turned off.

But if the FAA has real science, real evidence that electronic devices interfere with a plane's navigation and communication systems, we suspect there would be fewer conflicts over device usage.

Surveys have shown that significant numbers of people have at one time or another forgotten to set their smartphone to "airplane mode" during a trip and somehow made it off the plane alive. If they're so dangerous, how could that be?

And it was with quite a bit of fanfare that pilots recently got approval to use iPads in the cockpit — even during takeoff and landing.

How could it be right for them but wrong for everyone else?

Rules prohibiting use of electronic devices during takeoff and landing date to 1991. Since then, the avionics used on planes have become more sophisticated and varied, as have personal electronic devices.

Julius Genachowski, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, in December encouraged the FAA to expand use of tablets, e-readers and other devices during flight so people could be more productive and efficient.

We hope the agency listens. After the FAA collects comments, it plans to appoint a commission in January to study the matter and suggest possible rule changes.

Safety must come first, but rules must be based on evidence and not suspicions or studies that cannot be replicated.

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